It
is both a requirement and a pleasure to report to you on the status of the
Knights of Columbus in the
jurisdiction of the great State of Ohio. My first year in office as a State
Deputy has
had many challenges, many rewards and some disappointments. It is human
nature to
dwell more on the tough times than the rewarding. So, I need to say at the
outset
that many of the problems we encountered this last fraternal year were due
to
external factors and not to lack of effort by our State Officers, Directors
or Diocesan Personnel. Your
elected officers and appointed leaders are the most dedicated, experienced and
energetic representatives we could ever hope to have. On your behalf, I
would like
to thank them for their service. I also wish to thank our State Chaplain
Rev. James
Brown who took on this assignment though he has a full time ministry as
Pastor of
Our Lady of Lourdes in the Toledo Diocese. Fr. Jim has been with us to
provide spiritual guidance at every
opportunity possible. Fr. Jim has spent considerable effort at learning
as much as
possible about State Council operations and has had frequent contact with
Fr. John
Grace and Bishop Lori at the Supreme Council. Fr. Jim is active as a council
Chaplain in Toledo as well as at the State level.

The theme for 2009-2011 was and is “Strong in Faith and Service.” This theme
was well thought out and
was and is intended to remind our membership that we are a Catholic, fraternal
organization started by a priest, and we are supportive of our parishes,
families and neighbors. We should first be strong in our faith as it gives
focus and purpose to everything we do. Secondly, it is our mission as
Knights to serve others who are less fortunate or who need support. We also
created a sub-theme: “Together let us remember the dream” to
help with our membership efforts. The “dream” of course is that of Father
Michael J.
McGivney who started the Knights of Columbus in 1882. We want to “stay
the course” and continue to recruit new members who believe
in the same principals of those first Knights of Columbus.

We
are very fortunate in the Ohio jurisdiction that we have the leadership,
energy and finances to
further develop Supreme Council programs into a program “contest” that
encourages
council participation in quality programs in: Church, Community, Council,
Family,
Membership and Youth activities. Many councils and individuals are to
receive
recognition at this 111th
annual convention. Specific guidance was given to each Grand Knight in the
form of State developed booklets entitled the General Program Handbookand the
Grand Knight’s
Handbook
to help our councils and membership to become “Strong in Faith
and Service.” Some highlights are noted in my report, but I encourage each
of you to read the individual Director’s reports in this booklet. The
Directors are to be commended for
their creative programming, their dedication and energy, and willingness to
help council members learn the online reporting systems and how to use
the State
programs to their advantage. I am confident that the experience and
competence level expressed in our crew of directors is unmatched by most
jurisdictions in the Order. During the year,
257 of our councils elected to send in activity reports which indicated at
least 72%
of our active councils participated. Now that we are used to on-line
reporting, we
expect next year to be even better.

Near the outset of our fraternal year, Supreme Council began a significant
change to the Columbian Award
program by adding Pro-Life activities to the mandatory requirement along with Church,
Community, Council, Family and Youth for the coveted Columbian award part of
the Star Council Award. Since our
programming year had already begun, we were not in a position to make changes to
published literature. However, we immediately made the membership aware and began an
information campaign to advise all about the new requirement. In due time the
Supreme Council made available a new Columbian Award reporting form (SP-710/09) and
our councils began using the new form to report their application for the
Columbian
award with all required activities. Supreme Council is to be commended for
making this important change in emphasizing the significance
of Pro-Life reporting.

In
terms of the accomplishments in our membership numbers, expressed after all
our efforts to induct
new members, against a backdrop of suspensions, withdraws and deaths, we
were not pleased. We are on path to end the year with about 300 fewer
members than last fraternal
year. Our quota for membership intake as defined by Supreme council at
2,650 new
members is higher than ever before, but that has little to do with the
number of
suspensions of more than a thousand and the deaths we sustained at a rate of
more than
three per day. The mortality rate is in the hands of God, but we mortals
must endeavor to reduce the
suspensions. As we randomly checked on why there were so many suspensions,
the reason most often cited seemed to be that councils could no longer
afford to
carry members who were behind in their dues. And those behind in dues could
no longer
afford to pay what was owed. In many cases, councils attempted to arrange
deals or
payment plans to keep the member, but it was still not enough. The downturn
in the
economy during the last couple of years may have taken a financial toll on
many of our members and councils. Some cited the added assessment for the
Culture of Life and the recent increase in the State per capita fee. Councils
could no longer afford to pay these fees
for members who were in arrears. Going forward, we will better explain the
Culture of Life program as it is
not well understood. The State Officers are also considering some relief
with the Per Capita payments. A Resolution will be discussed at this
convention.

Many of these members suspended were behind more than two years in dues and
had not been in contact
with their council for years. We attempted to rectify this situation by
instituting a program called the “Power of 10” that asked active members to
get in
contact with those out of touch. This program was instituted by the State of
Georgia and it
worked well to reduce suspensions. We have seen it work where adopted in
Ohio and will continue to push its use next year as well. We also uncovered
the fact that many Financial Secretaries did not take the proper steps to
suspend delinquents, and many councils did not have a Retention person or
committee. We intend to improve both of these situations in the next
fraternal year, primarily through training. We also intend to better
utilize our diocesan staff to improve intake and retention. In all, we have
14 diocesan chairman in place and very capable of helping with this
challenge. I am confident that the terrible suspension rate of last year,
will not plague our State in the coming year!

On
the bright side, we are on track to take in more than 2,000 new members this
year that concludes in June, and we are on track to start more than 10 new
councils! For this we owe our gratitude to every Knight who asked a
Catholic man to join our ranks, and to the perseverance of our membership
team headed by Paul Barko and new council development efforts of
Gabriel Minton. Please see Gabriel’s report for the location and details of
our newest councils recorded to date. And we would like to welcome all these
new
Brothers! Both Paul and Gabriel had much support from Directors and District
Deputies that are too numerous to mention, with the exception of District
Deputy Ed
Ponder who was involved with starting three new councils! Congratulations
Ed!

Our
multi-parish councils established more than 80 Round Table arrangements with
the pastors of
parishes served. This was about half of our quota. Many more were actually
in
existence, but not reported properly. The actual process consists of two
steps and both forms must be
submitted every year. State Council has petitioned Supreme Council by way of a
Resolution to examine the process with the goal of making it more “user
friendly” and thus capture what is actually happening.

Because of healthy new council development over the last several years, we
have steadily added District Deputies to our DD corps which now stands at
78! Our DDs each service an average five councils and in my opinion are
unsung heroes. They are the eyes, ears, feet and hands of the State Council
in that it is the DD who must visit the council, keep tabs on what is
getting done, and motivate council leaders to do their job. They do this
month in and month out with almost no compensation for their time, trouble
and expenses. State and Supreme Councils cannot achieve goals without the
active participation of the District Deputy. My thanks to each and every
one of you!

In
Ohio we have 24 Squires Circles and 370 members. Not to be outdone, and with
the leadership of Fr.
F. Richard Snoke and Director Marty Schumacher, we started two new Squires Circles
this fraternal year: one sponsored by St. Hilary Council #14551 in Akron
and the
second by Council #7970 in North Ridgeville. Other circles are under development and may become a reality soon.

Over many years in Ohio we have adopted a few critical and highly successful
fundraising
efforts. Your State Officers have energetically assumed leadership roles for
all. I
would like to quickly summarize:

The Measure Up campaign is chaired by our State Warden Kevin Miller
and is designed to raise money for council selected organizations that work
with the developmentally disabled. This
year’s campaign is just concluding but last year our councils raised $438,579 under then State Warden Bob Collins.

The
Matching Funds campaign was chaired by our current State Advocate Bob
Collins and
is intended to raise funds for religious educational needs. Our Ohio
Charities Foundation contributed a $25,000 match. This year’s total was more
than $57,000.

The
Charity Raffle campaign, also known as the Cash Bonanza, is chaired
by our State Treasurer and
ends this weekend with the drawing. The results will be published very
soon.
Councils reap significant rebates from this campaign for their local
charitable uses. Last year’s
campaign chaired by David Helmstetter grossed $740,420 from more than 148,000 tickets sold.

The
Pennies for Heaven campaign that raises money for our diocesan
vocations departments is
chaired by our State Secretary David Helmstetter, who is ably assisted by
our
Vocation Director Joe Mackos. This campaign is unique to Ohio and has
steadily
grown to a record $81,366 collected this year. Seventeen councils made it to
the $1000 club. To them and all contributors, we say “thank you”. The
long-term goal is to get this program to a
sustainable $100,000 per year, in addition to the usual RSVP donations to
seminarians.

While mentioning fund raisers, I need to address the Football Sweepstake
that was started several
years ago as a way of providing operational funds for our local councils and
the State Council. This activity was chaired by Past State Deputy Gary
Eckstein and it raised nearly
$40,000 each for both local and State councils! Thank you PSD Eckstein
for your continued support.

An
important responsibility of the State Deputy and officers is to operate
programs and activities within our means and to insure financial stability
of the State Council. In this last fiscal year, your
State Council maintained three accounts with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank: a Fund Raising
account that is funded primarily by the Football Sweepstake program, a
General
checking account that is funded by Per Capita income and all miscellaneous
sources of
income, and a recently created Savings account that is used to hold funds
for a
higher rate of interest during times of plenty. Near the end of the
fraternal year, a fourth account was
opened and it will be funded by 20% of the Measure Up collections. At this
convention, delegates assigned to the Audit Committee will review in detail
the report of our auditors
Flemming, Brockschmidt and Durkin of Cincinnati, Ohio. The committee task is to verify
the process and extent of record keeping, and to review the auditors report in detail.
We can take comfort in the fact that this audit is extremely thorough. In
spite of
the high cost of starting new programs last year, we were able to honor all
invoices and will finish the fraternal year “in the black!”

Of
importance to our financial control is the fact that we converted from a
cash system to the accrual system
of accounting and commenced full time use of the QuickBooks accounting
system for depositing funds, check writing and account segregation control.
My thanks and appreciation goes to Immediate Past State Deputy Larry
Moegling for his tireless efforts
on our behalf in making these successful changes. Larry has been hands-on
help in making improvements in our financial systems. Thanks also to State
Secretary
David Helmstetter for his role in taking over key elements of the check
recording and writing
procedures. As was reported last year, the Executive Secretary position was
phased out
with the retirement of Robert Eason who willingly assisted for a few months
during the changeover.

The State Officers, Directors and District Deputies are to be commended for
their fiscal control during this last fraternal year. Numerous cases abound
of not requesting or taking per diem and
mileage payments, using conference calling and internet exchanges in lieu
of
meetings, combining officer meetings with other activities to minimize
travel,
returning specific donation costs back to regional responsibility,
eliminating State paid phone services for
directors, staff and officers and reducing postage cost by providing web site
information and routine mail-outs via email transfers and the internet. In
this regard
all but about 33 of our councils have agreed to receive frequent State
mailings via the internet,
thus saving a significant amount of printing and postage. We expect to have
100% of
our councils with an e-mail contact address by the end of the next fraternal
year.
Likewise we continued the effort of our predecessors in converting important
activity
reports from printed and mailed copies to online reporting. General Program
Director
Mark Pickard and Web site Director Jerry Lowery are to be commended for
their efforts in this regard. In a very practical sense, your State Council
has made good strides at “going green.”

We
experienced two International Free Throw champions in our State:
Kelly Lamb, sponsored by
Council #10792 of the Cleveland Diocese and Heathe Heiby sponsored by Council #1800 of
the Cincinnati Diocese. We also had an International Soccer Champion
Sara Stoll from Norwalk Council #626 in the Toledo Diocese. Congratulations
to these youngsters! Trophies were provided by Supreme Council.
Lastly we had an international third place Anti Drug Abuse Poster
winner by Samuel Burtch sponsored by Council #2158. Sam received a Certificate
and a $100 check!

In
midwinter we were made aware of 750 coats donated to Supreme Council as part
of the Coats for
Kids program, and they were offered to Ohio, but we had to act quickly
to get
them. I am very pleased to report that every coat was distributed to
children in Cincinnati,
Dayton and Cleveland. It was no easy chore to line up distribution points,
to arrange
for shipments and to man the centers. Our thanks to Don Morris, David
Bowling Jr.
and District Deputy Brandon Robinson in the Cleveland Diocese, to Grand
Knights
William Wirtz and Tim Mangen, and District Deputy Mike Thomas who arranged
for
distribution through St Vincent DePaul in Dayton, and to Grand Knight Bob
Gomez and
council #3369 in Cincinnati. What an awesome display of team work!

Another opportunity of which we took advantage was Supreme Councils offer to
share the cost of ultrasound machines purchased
by qualified anti-abortion centers. The money came from the Culture of Life
Fund. Two machines were ordered or purchased:
one sponsored by councils of the Columbus
Chapter and the second by councils of the Cincinnati Chapter. At least one other
machine purchase is in the works in the Cleveland Diocese and another is being pursued in
the Toledo Diocese. Co-sponsoring an ultrasound machine with a
local pro-life center is a very practical and effective pro-life activity
that becomes a reality when multiple councils unite for a common cause.

* * *

My
Brother Knights, the sobering news I gave you at the outset of this report
about our high suspension
numbers seems to pale in comparison to the amazing accomplishments all of
you have
achieved during this last year. In spite of the slumping economy, you and
your
council Brothers rose to the occasion in terms of charity, unity and
fraternity. May God continue to bless our Order and may the dream of Fr.
Michael J. McGivney continue to
inspire us to even better accomplishments next year.

“You are part of a great organization – a very
large global operation. It’s huge. But its success all depends on what we do
at the grass roots level. You are a leader of the Church. People are
counting on you.”

Past Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant gave those
thoughts to Ohio’s Knights and guests at the State Deputy’s Banquet of the
111th Annual Convention of the Ohio State Council, held during
the weekend of May 28-30 in Cleveland. Dechant was principal speaker at the
banquet, which was the highlight of the convention.

Specifically, he was imploring Knights to
speak up against attacks on the pope, who has been accused of neglecting a
situation. “Nothing is further from the truth,” Dechant emphasized. “The
time has come for Knights to speak up and defend Pope Benedict XVI.”

In his remarks, Dechant emphasized that new
councils are vital to the Order. “What good is one council with 15 parishes
when you could have 15 councils with 15 Grand Knights, etc.?” he asked.

“The Order is strong,” he continued.
“Insurance growth is vital to the Order. Our insurance arm makes the Order
tick.”

* * *

State Deputy Paul Upman presided over the
convention. “I appreciate how you’ve embraced the Strong in Faith and
Service program,” he said.

State General Program Director Mark Pickard,
who presided over distribution of plaques at an Awards Session and council
and individual honorees at the State Deputy’s Banquet, congratulated
councils for going paperless this fraternal year.

“You are a part of history,” he said. “For the
first time, we asked you to do away with reporting on paper. And you did.
More than 70% of our councils reported their activities, and only 3%
reported them on paper and through the U.S. mail. The vast majority reported
online.”

Pickard reported that 256 Ohio councils
participated in the 2009-2010 general program.

* * *

During business sessions, delegates took
action on 25 resolutions submitted by state officers and various councils,
including approval of one that will reduce the per capita tax for inactive
insurance members. It must be submitted to Supreme Council and it also
involves an Ohio State Council bylaw change.

* * *

Ohio’s No. 1 council for the 2009-2010
fraternal year – St. John Newmann Council 11823, Steubenville – was honored
at the State Deputy’s Banquet, along with others in the Top Ten.

Individuals also were honored. Chaplain of the
Year was bestowed on Msgr. James Kolp, a two-time Former State Chaplain –
1969-1971 and again in 1089-1991 -- who this year is celebrating his 60th
Anniversary as a priest. Msgr. Kolp, who spent 27 years as pastor of the
Church of St. Mary in Massillon, has been Chaplain of Massillon Council 554
since 1974.

James Bruder, of Avon and Father Ragan Council
3269 in the Cleveland Diocese, was honored as Knight of the Year for his 48
years of continued leadership in his council.

* * *

The final award of the State Deputy’s Banquet
was the St. Paul Award, presented to the state officer whose diocese reached
the highest amount of council participation within the state general program
as well as the highest net membership increase (as of May 1). Winner of the
award was State Secretary Dave Helmstetter.

During his remarks at the State Deputy’s
Banquet of the State Convention, Past Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant spoke
fondly about the work of Ohioans in the Order, and he reminisced about his
23-year tenure as Supreme Knight.

He especially paid tribute to the late Charles
Riesbeck Jr., a Past State Deputy of Ohio from St. Clairsville and Supreme
Director/Supreme Secretary for 21 years during the administration of Dechant.

“He was a real Ohioan,” Dechant said. “He
always thought, ‘Is this good for Ohio’ when a decision was to be made.”

He spoke about Knights such as the late Ohio
Past State Deputies Judge Leo Stark and Henry Kondrat, who were Supreme
Directors, as well as Ohio Past State Deputy Ray Miller, who served the
Order in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

“The work of our Past State Deputies paved the
way for the successes we have today,” he remarked.

Dechant also spoke about our priests.

“We’re ending the Year of the Priest,” he
said. “The priesthood is the love and the heart of Jesus. When opening the
Year of the Priest, the Holy Father said, ‘how can I not pay tribute to
their apostolic endeavors’?

“These priests we have today trust you, and we
want them to know that we trust them.”

Dechant was the Order’s 12th
Supreme Knight.

* * *

Dechant has some Ohio roots. He is a graduate
of the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Class of 1956. He was elated
to hear at the convention that a new council – No. 15009 – has been formed
at the college, and that during one of the business sessions Former State
Chaplain Fr. Paul Hrezo – who is assigned to the college – was seated as a
delegate. Dechant is a member of the Josephinum’s Board of Trustees.

* * *

Besides Dechant, a special guest at the
convention was Vice Supreme Master George Dann, from Michigan. He arrived on
Saturday, after attending Michigan’s State Convention on Mackinac Island …..
Guest speaker at the Sunday Men’s Luncheon was a tremendously successful
Cleveland St. Ignatius High School football coach and motivational speaker,
Chuck Kyle.

* * *

Cleveland Diocese Auxiliary Bishop (retired)
A. Edward Pevec, a former state chaplain, was main celebrant at the
convention’s Sunday Mass. Concelebrants were current State Chaplain, Fr.
James Brown, and Former State Chaplains Msgr. James Kolp, Fr. F. Richard
Snoke and Fr. Paul Hrezo. Bishop Pevec and Msgr. Kolp were classmates at St.
Mary’s Seminary.

* * *

Fr. Snoke is celebrating his 45th
Anniversary as a priest; Msgr. Kolp is celebrating his 60th
Anniversary ….. State Treasurer Ken Girt noted at the Sunday business
session that six officers “were in their 50’s yesterday. Today only five
officers are in their 50’s. Girt turned 60 on Sunday ….. Eight Past State
Deputies were in attendance: Robert Sears, Dennis Shonebarger, Baci Carpico,
Al Hickey, Leonard Krawczyk, John Welch, Roland Bator, Gary Eckstein.

State Convention delegates studied 25
resolutions during the Saturday afternoon business session. Among them, they
approved one that would reduce the state per capita fee charged to local
councils for inactive insurance members.

Pointing out that Supreme Council at present,
on the anniversary date of insurance policies paid to inactive insurance
members, reimburses local councils less than the total paid by the local
council in state and supreme per capita fees.

The resolution calls for the state per capita
fee to be reduced to an amount commensurate with the reimbursement policy of
Supreme Council. Currently, the reduction would be $2.00.

The approved resolution must be submitted to
Supreme Council. It also involves a change in the Ohio State Council bylaws.

Other resolutions approved
include:

·Asking that Supreme Council
petition the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.
to set aside a place within the Shrine “to honor Our Lady under her title
of Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin”, and that the K of C provide
such a statue to the Shrine.

·Asking that a rosary be offered
before the celebration of Mass at the Supreme Council Convention.

·Encouraging councils and
assemblies to repeat the phrase “born and unborn” after the Pledge of
Allegiance is ended at Knights of Columbus events and meetings.

·Asking that parish round tables
be considered established when Supreme Form 2629 is submitted and that a new
form need not be submitted each year so long as the relationship is active
and that a Form 2630 is filed at the end of each fraternal year as required.

·Asking that Supreme petition the
U.S. Postal Service to provide a reduced, or free, postage of parcels
mailed to soldiers serving overseas in the Armed Forces.

·Giving Past State Deputies the
right to cast votes at state conventions (this involves a bylaw change).

Honorary resolutions were
approved:

Fr. Michael McGivney; Supreme Knight Carl
Anderson; Supreme Chaplain Bishop William Lori; Past Supreme Knight Virgil
Dechant; State Chaplain Fr. James Brown; State Deputy Paul Upman; Former
State Chaplain Fr. F. Richard Snoke; Immediate Past State Deputy Larry
Moegling; Bishops of Ohio; Vice Supreme Master George Dann; Msgr. James Kolp;
the late Fr. Mark Schminder (who served 23 years as chaplain at the Lebanon
Correctional Institution), and Sister Mary Evelyn Hillebrand (for her 50
years of service to the Church).

Finally, delegates resolved to publicly honor
military veterans with a moment of silence at the state convention.

St. Peter the Apostle Council 13984, Brook
Park (Cleveland Diocese), provided financial support to seminarians by
collecting more than a “Million Pennies for Heaven in the Year of the
Priests”. A local company designed collection cups and collections were made
at a religious store, the parish, a pizza party and fish fries. In addition,
a wine-tasting party was held at the local parish hall. The council raised
$10,401 for seminarians of the Cleveland Diocese.

Best Pro-Life Activity

Geauga Council 3304 (Cleveland Diocese) hosted
a pro-life dinner with Jason Jones, producer of the award-winning movie
BELLA as guest speaker. He motivated the 250 persons in attendance to get
involved with the pro-life movement. It was a huge success, raising more
than $2,500 which was donated to two local seminarians and the St. Helen’s
Pro-Life group. In addition, the St. Helen’s Life Teen Group sold more than
150 copies of the BELLA movie which Jones provided. Copies also were donated
to a pregnancy center for women to view.

Best Community Activity

St. Sebastian Council 14255, Akron (Cleveland
Diocese) held a “Knock Your Socks Off” campaign for the Christ Child Society
of Akron. Members and St. Sebastian parishioners collected clothing
(including 409 pairs of socks) along with cash to supplement the Christ
Child Society’s “Bags of Love” project which assists needy people with
clothing items.

Best Council Activity

Massillon Council 554 ( Youngstown
Diocese) hosted the Kelly-Miller Circus, an event that hadn’t happened in
Massillon in 30 years. It took months of planning and was a fun event for
the community, as well as council members. During the circus the council
served dinners in the council hall, realizing more than $1,000.

Best Public Relations
Activity

Fr. John Roettele Council 8115, Fairfield
(Cincinnati Diocese) donated $425 to Shared Harvest Food Bank to help keep
the pantry stocked. The funds came from proceeds of the council’s Lenten
Fish Fries.

Best Family Activity

St. Francis of Assisi Council 10792,
Strongsville (Cleveland Diocese) has conducted an on-going “Rosary CD
Program” whereby members produce and distribute special CD’s at no cost (but
suggesting a donation) to assist families in praying the rosary. More than
1800 CD’s have been distributed. Proceeds from the donations provide support
for seminarians and Catholic high school scholarships.

Best Membership Activity

Knights from Joseph Cardinal Bernadin Council
12359, Cincinnati, have established an ongoing program to reach out and
serve not only their community, but also their Brother Knights and their
families in need. The “Brothers in Need” program has raised more than $3,000
to help families get back on their feet. It has resulted in a good
membership recruitment tool.

Best Youth Activity

Perrysburg Council 7978 (Toledo Diocese) was
an important part of a YES Project gathering at St. Rose Parish. It is an
annual service project put on by the Catholic Youth Ministries of Toledo.
Council members volunteered to provide food at the dinner gathering.

Best Squires Activity

Members of Massillon Council 554’s Squires
Circle (Youngstown Diocese) held a steak fry at the council’s pavilion,
raising $515 to support the Squires’ activities and charities.

James Bruder was honored
for his 48 years of continuing service to Father Ragan Council 3269, Avon
(Cleveland Diocese) and the Lt. McManus Assembly of Lorain County. James and
his wife, Bobbie, raised four children: Ann Marie, Michael, Tim and Beth.
Following the death of Tim, James established the Tim Bruder Memorial
Foundation and has raised more than $60,000 for Crohn’s Disease research at
The Cleveland Clinic. James and Bobbie are with State Council Activities
Director Bob Byers (left) and State Deputy Paul Upman (right

Lady
of the Year: Ruth Vreeland

Volunteer of the Year: Wayne Vreeland

A husband and wife team were honored for their
service. Ruth is active with the Blessed John XXIII Parish, Perrysburg
(Toledo Diocese) St. Vincent de Paul Society and helped organize the parish
center’s “Perennial Prayer Garden. She serves with the Perrysburg Christian
United Food Bank and belongs to many civic groups. Wayne is a member of the
parish RICA candidate program, CCD teacher and Eucharistic Minister. He
served in the U.S. Army for 21 years and is a PGK of Blessed John XXIII
Council 14502 and Faithful Navigator of the Msgr. Yates Assembly. They have
been married for 28 years. Ruth is with State Deputy Paul Upman; Wayne is
with State Community Activities Director Mike Abfall.

Religious of the
Year: Fr. Dismas Boeff, O.S.B.

Fr. Boeff is associate pastor at St. Peter the
Apostle Parish, Brook Park (Cleveland Diocese); member of St. Peter the
Apostle Council 13984, and Chaplain of Southwest Hospital and Regency
Hospital. He is founder of the parish Divine Mercy prayer group and is a
leader of the local Alcohol Anonymous programs. He also is active in prison
ministry. Fr. Boeff (center) is with State Church Director Jack Campbell
(left) and State Deputy Paul Upman.

Blue
Coat of Year: James Astorino

James has been a member of the Brook Park
(Cleveland Diocese) Fire Department for 29 years, and is current president
of the Northern Ohio Fire Fighters Association. He is active in raising
funds for the Cleveland Metropolitan Hospital burn unit and volunteers with
the USO to raise awareness of the nation’s servicemen, and is active in
community youth activities. He is a member of St. Peter the Apostle Council
13984, Brook Park. James is with State Deputy Paul Upman.

District
Deputy of Year: DD-8 Edward Ponder

Among his accomplishments, Ed was a driving
force in starting three new councils in the Cincinnati Archdiocese – with
two more in the works. He also started a new Squires Circle. He is a member
of the Dayton Third Degree Team and has started another in the area. He is a
member of St. Leonard Council 10215, Centerville. Ed is with State District
Deputy Director Jerry Karpinski (left).

Family of the Year: Gary & Peggy Christie
Family

Gary, Peggy and their four children – John,
Sam Lial and Maggie – all are active in the Blessed John XXIII Parish and in
a number of organizations within the Perrysburg (Toledo Diocese) community.
Gary has served as Deputy Grand Knight of Blessed John XXIII Council 14502.
The Christie family is with State Family Activities Director Larry Droesch
(left) and State Deputy Paul Upman (right).

Youth
of the Year: Derek Adam

Derek is a member of the St. Lukes’ Parish
Squires Circle in Danville (Columbus Diocese), where he has served as State
Burser and Deputy Chief Squire. Derek (center) is with State Youth Director
Ken Gardner.

Kirwin
Award: Mark Hedge

For the sixth consecutive year, Field Agent
Mark Hedge has received the Kirwin Award, symbolic of the top-producing
agent in Ohio. His volume of new life insurance policies issued is
$21,241,926. He is associated with the Carl C. Ferguson Insurance Agency.
Mark receives the award from State Deputy Paul Upman.

Ohio delegates to the 2010 Supreme Convention,
which will be held in Washington D.C. on Aug. 3-5, were elected in area
caucuses at the State Convention. Elected were:

Area 1- Delegate:
Robert Boyer Alternate: Gerald Meiring

Area 2 -
Delegate: Mark Cmar Alternate: Herman
Dehring

Area 3 -
Delegate: Brandon Robinson Alternate: Thomas Foss

Area 4 -
Delegate: Charles Wirtz Alternate: Richard
George

Area 5 -
Delegate: Edward Ponder Alternate: Doug Sabo

Area 6 -
Delegate: Thomas Gault Alternate: Duane Loro

Area 7 -
Delegate: John Snyder Alternate: PSD Baci
Carpico

Area 8 -
Delegate: Randel Clark Alternate: William
Malarick

In addition, State Deputy
Paul Upman and Immediate Past State Deputy Larry Moegling are automatic
delegates. Alternates to them are State Secretary Dave Helmstetter and State
Treasurer Ken Girt, respectively.

After five consecutive years of being in
Supreme Councils “Circle of Honor” for membership, Ohio has experienced an
atypical year in 2009-2010, finishing well below the quota established by
the Knights of Columbus headquarters.

“While we have had a successful year
recruiting, we also have experienced an unusually high number of
suspensions,” reported State Membership Director Paul Barko at the State
Convention. “While there have been numerous explanations given for this
trend, the reality is that we need to focus not on the ‘why’ but on the
‘what are we going to do about it’? We need to make a concerted statewide
effort, on a council-by-council level, to halt that trend during this coming
fraternal year. Working together, we can and will succeed in this effort.”

“Further complicating our membership growth
has been the unusually high number of Brother Knights who have passed away
this past year,” Barko continued. “As of May 1, we have lost 1,156 members
to death, an average of nearly three members per day. This pattern gives
further validation to admonitions from state and diocesan personnel over the
years that ‘we are aging’ as an Order and that we need to recruit new and
younger members to replace them if our Order is to remain strong and
vibrant.”

Barko also had reported that 11 new councils
had been formed in Ohio as of June 1.

As of June 1,Ohio Knights had recruited 2,111
new members. But the jurisdiction’s councils also suffered 1,163 losses, for
a net gain of only 948, well below the Supreme quota of 1,800 net new
members.

The June 1 statistics show that the Columbus
Diocese is well ahead of every other Ohio diocese in membership recruitment,
attaining 121% of its quota with 500 new members and 176 losses for a net
gain of 324 new members. The Cincinnati Archdiocese was at 80% of its quota,
with 578 new members and 203 losses, for a net gain of 375.

Ohio’s Knights have shown tremendous
enthusiasm for support of vocations.

That fact is evidenced by the state’s
Pennies for Heaven program, which set a record in 2009-2010 with $81,366
collected by councils, chapters, assemblies and circles. The total exceeds
the $77,447 collected in the 2008-2009 fraternal year, and the previous
record of $79,020 in 2007-2008.

Sixteen councils exceeded collections of more
than $1,000, according to State Secretary Dave Helmstetter, Pennies for
Heaven chairman. Tops was St. Peter the Apostle Council 13984, Brook
Park (Cleveland Diocese), which collected $10,401.

“St. Peter the Apostle Council exceeded all
expectations for this program,” Helmstetter said. “Along with the
traditional passing the jug, the council used specific activities such as a
wine-tasting event and incorporated the full parish in its effort to support
vocations. This should show other Ohio councils the potential and impact
Pennies for Heaven can have in their dioceses and parishes.”

In the Pennies for Heaven program, all
funds collected in a particular diocese are given to the vocations office of
that diocese.

The theme of the 2009-2010 campaign was “Got
Vocations ….. Pass the Jug!”, and a second theme, “Got Vocations ….. Go
Beyond the Jug”, were utilized to promote vocations. The second theme
encouraged councils to do more than just passing the jug – conducting
specific activities to raise funds for the program.

It is the policy of the Ohio State
Council to mail three copies of the Buckeye Bulletin to every council in
Ohio, the purpose being to display and make them available at council
meetings and other gatherings. We have noticed a large number of
non-deliverable copies being returned because of invalid addresses. Please
make sure, if your council address changes, to notify me, State Treasurer
Ken Girt, at
girtken@sssnet.com.
If your council does not have a valid mailing address, we will mail the
three copies to the Financial Secretary. Please forward that address to me.

The Buckeye Bulletin is
mailed free of charge to Ohio Knights of Columbus in good
standing. Subscriptions can be requested by completing the
following information.

Name
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Address
_________________________________________________________

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Note: You must include the
full 9-digit Zip Code

Council Name & Number
________________________________

Send to:
Harding Christ, Buckeye Bulletin Editor

32649
Surrey Lane, Avon Lake, OH 44012-1642

Members Can Subscribe to the Buckeye Bulletin

Ohio members in
good standing can subscribe free of charge to the Buckeye Bulletin,
official publication of the Ohio State Council, which is mailed free of
charge seven times during the fraternal year. Members interested in
reading this publication should complete the request form. The request
MUST include the member’s full, 9-digit Zip Code. If it is not included,
the request cannot be processed.